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A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

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Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#101

Post by kkarakk »

dblohm7 wrote: post #59
acqq wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> about:preferences has an option like, "Use a background service to install updates". But even if it's checked, it seems the Firefox managers/decision makers still think that it improves the users awareness on the Firefox brand that they spend your time on these (quoted from jasonkester's post): "wait. Before we get to what you wanted to do, I'm going to spend a minute downloading a new version. OK, now I'm going to…

Good news: Full background update functionality is in the works. (I work on the team that owns install/update at Mozilla, though I don’t work on it myself.)

meanwhile chrome already has it and it "just works". do you guys understand that most people aren't developers who can reconcile with the phrase "it's in the works and is coming"

firefox team on avg seems to me to focus on random things the average user doesn't care about. firefox sync doesn't "just work" so chrome sync is better. firefox doesn't play youtube videos as smoothly as chrome does(i don't care that you need to implement some stuff to get youtube to work smoother, youtube working smoothly is a primary feature for most people - you lose users)

i simply don't understand why the focus is the way it is at firefox. your focus is on the open web while the focus at chrome seems to be acquiring and keeping users happy. then firefox team complain about how chrome has the lions share of the market and is killing the open web...

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#102

Post by jhasse »

anhner wrote: post #92
jhasse wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On Android, the extension support alone makes it so much better than the competition. Firefox doesn't open links handled by apps directly with the app, like almost every other Android browser does. This makes it unusable for me. Here's the bug report (7 years old) btw: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=806385

I consider that a feature. If I go to youtube.com with firefox, it means that I intentionally want to avoid opening the app, so I don't want every video I click on in firefox to open with the youtube app. However, I think there was an option to have it enabled if you wish to.

> However, I think there was an option to have it enabled if you wish to.

No, otherwise that bug would have been marked as fixed.

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#103

Post by vezycash »

nindalf wrote: post #30

I thought the thread would have more substance to it. His claim is that Google products would have performance bugs or would explicitly block any non-Chrome browser. As a long time Firefox user, I’m with him so far. But he loses me on the next bit where he rules out incompetence and then jumps to org-level malice. I don’t think it’s either. A simpler explanation is that Google simply stopped caring about non-Chrome b…

>But he loses me on the next bit where he rules out incompetence and then jumps to org-level malice.

Google deliberately blocked Windows Phone users from MAPs. They gave bullshit reason that the browser wouldn't work. But it worked for those who knew how to change their user agent to something else.

https://www.businessinsider.com/google-admits-it-was-blockin...

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#104

Post by jhasse »

richjdsmith wrote: post #93
jhasse wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't know whats going wrong with Firefox. Pocket integration, advertisement on New Tab page, the Mr. Robot debacle, Google Analytics on extension page, etc.

That's hardly worse than anything done against your privacy in Chrome...

With all the other benefits Chrome has over Firefox (e.g. advertisement on google.com), you'll need to be more than only "not as bad as Chrome".

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#105

Post by user17843 »

dblohm7 wrote: post #59
acqq wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> about:preferences has an option like, "Use a background service to install updates". But even if it's checked, it seems the Firefox managers/decision makers still think that it improves the users awareness on the Firefox brand that they spend your time on these (quoted from jasonkester's post): "wait. Before we get to what you wanted to do, I'm going to spend a minute downloading a new version. OK, now I'm going to…

Good news: Full background update functionality is in the works. (I work on the team that owns install/update at Mozilla, though I don’t work on it myself.)

Will that also help with the 10% or so users that are not on up-to-date versions?

It looks like the user base is still a bit fractionated.

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#106

Post by kkarakk »

icebraining wrote: post #94
jhasse wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On Android, the extension support alone makes it so much better than the competition. Firefox doesn't open links handled by apps directly with the app, like almost every other Android browser does. This makes it unusable for me. Here's the bug report (7 years old) btw: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=806385

Eh, that's interesting, I quite prefer that behavior over Chrome's, as it gives me more control with (what I feel is) minimal extra effort.

it slows down your workflow with minimum effort too. transforming/accessing data quickly is a big part of doing anything on mobile and i don't need a browser that stops the flow in between

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#107

Post by drilldrive »

judge2020 wrote: post #29
black-tea wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> address bars with integrated search engines, That is the worst thing to happen to Web browsers that I can remember. When I type an address into that bar, I expect the browser to attempt to contact the server I specify. I do not expect it to decide that what I typed was a search term and send me off to Google. Firefox had actual quick searches in the address bar years before. That is where you prefix what you type w…

Back when IE was king and there were separate search/address bars, everyone I knew either went to search engine websites or used the search bar. Only those in my tech-literate circle occasionally typed in full domain names when they knew exactly what website they want to go to. The web was marketed as a place to "find anything", and the address bar didn't do that for the regular user.

I still keep my search and address bar separate, mainly because the search bar is static across tabs, whereas the address bar loses information whenever I click away. I like a bit of both styles, though I generally use the search bar.

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#108

Post by acqq »

kkarakk wrote: post #101
dblohm7 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good news: Full background update functionality is in the works. (I work on the team that owns install/update at Mozilla, though I don’t work on it myself.)

meanwhile chrome already has it and it "just works". do you guys understand that most people aren't developers who can reconcile with the phrase "it's in the works and is coming" firefox team on avg seems to me to focus on random things the average user doesn't care about. firefox sync doesn't "just work" so chrome sync is better. firefox doesn't play youtube videos as smoothly as chrome does(i don't care that you ne…

All valid questions, and as far as I understand it, it’s Mozilla managers who prioritise things that sound good to managers (like the famous Looking Glass background) vs. simply persisting on removing technical issues that are definitely visible to users (like being much less battery friendly).

I criticise because I care and actually use Firefox, and expect it to be better.

Re: A tale of how Google tried to win against Mozilla

#109

Post by [deleted] »

roenxi wrote: post #6

One of the 'mysteries' of corporations is that they will either do nothing, or take an action that furthers their corporate interests. People don't seem to expect that of companies with a public face and seem surprised when they turn out to be just like any other corporate group. It's a coordination thing - coordinating a large group of people is so challenging only simple messages like 'make a profit' get through on…

[deleted]
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